exhibition
SAVAGE ROSES الورود البرية
Souad Mani & Emily Sarsam
02/09 – 13/09/2026
curated by Christine Bruckbauer and Aline Lenzhofer
Khollita: Wednesday, September 02, 2026, 4 pm
Venue: philomena+, Heinestraße 40, 1020 Vienna
Opening: Wednesday, September 09, 2026, 5-10 pm
Exhibtion duration: 10/09 – 13/09/2026
Thr-Fri 1-8 pm, Sa-So 11 am-8 pm
Venue : Parallel Vienna, Otto Wagner Areal, Pavillion 13, Ground Floor, Room 13, Baumgartner Höhe 1, 1140 Vienna
photo: Aziza Gorgi
For Savage Roses الورود البرية, Emily Sarsam and Souad Mani examine the impact of large-scale extraction projects in the region of Tataouine in southern Tunisia on the ecosystem and vernacular agricultural practices.
In this exhibition project, starting in Vienna and continuing in Gabès in 2027, the artists contrast the exploitation of fossil fuels in the supposedly ‘barren lunar landscape’ with local land-use practices and communal rituals, such as food preparation or wool processing.
Through an installation of textile works, video and sound, Emily Sarsam and Souad Mani bring collective practices – known, among other names, as Khollita – to life, whilst simultaneously drawing parallels with the romanticised floral names of the gas and oil extraction facilities in southern Tunisia.
Navigating the spectrum between extraction and commoning, invasion and resistance, Savage Roses reframes the term ‘savage’—which carries negative connotations in a colonial context—by highlighting the significance of this desert-like region as a source of sustenance and collective action.
artists
SOUAD MANI
is a visual artist and university lecturer who lives and works in Sousse, Tunisia. Her transdisciplinary work is distinguished by its techno-poetic experiments. In her artistic practice she examines landscapes undergoing transformation under the impact of human activity, and opens up new perspectives on the links between art, technology, and environment. Souad Mani is the founder of De l’image à l’atelier and eSseda.lab.
EMILY SARSAM
is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher, and cultural organizer based between Tunis and Vienna. Her work explores mediums such as sound composition, voice, fiction, poetry, performance, and publishing. She focuses on commoning practices in rural and agricultural contexts, as well as the impacts of colonialism and extractivism on food, agriculture, and local cosmologies. She is currently enrolled in the PhD-in-Practice program at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
Supported by
